News from the AOA's Blog

While determined work continues in Washington, D.C. to ensure fair treatment for optometrists and patients under health care reform, the AOA is now fighting a two-front battle on Capitol Hill to preserve hard-won gains and prevent massive cuts in Medicare reimbursement for optometrists serving millions of America’s seniors around the nation.

On the first front, the AOA is now busily working with key Members of Congress to prevent a considerable cut in Medicare physician payments set to take effect shortly. Without AOA-backed corrective legislative action, ODs and other Medicare physicians face a 21 percent cut in reimbursement starting Jan. 1, 2010 and an overall cut of 40 percent by 2016.

AOA and other provider groups have convinced Congress to intervene and prevent scheduled cuts in recent years – saving millions of dollars in payments to ODs – but a quickly shrinking legislative calendar, a long list of time-sensitive issues requiring Congressional action before the end of the year, and an increasingly divisive debate over the scope and direction of health care reform have all made the outcome of this central fight gradually more uncertain.

“Optometry now faces enormous challenges in our efforts to ensure fair treatment and compensation for ODs serving America’s seniors throughout the nation,” said Randolph E. Brooks, O.D., AOA President. “Right now, the AOA is fighting a two-front battle in Washington, D.C. and we are committed to preserving our hard-won gains and preventing enactment of an unfair cut in Medicare reimbursement to ODs.”

On the second front, the AOA is now engaged in a battle to preserve a hard-won correction to the Medicare fee schedule and a better recognition of the value of eye care and the practice expenses of ODs. Early last month, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that the agency would move forward with plans to provide $288 million in additional payments to optometrists between 2010 and 2013. (AOA News, Nov).

The AOA worked closely with CMS and other provider groups to correct inequities in the current Medicare payment system. In fact, the new CMS policy would mean a 5 percent boost in payments for ODs in 2010. However, the AOA is now fighting to retain this hard-fought win in the face of a large-scale, multi-million dollar lobbying effort launched by cardiology and other specialties that have benefited for years from the lopsided fee schedule.

Stay tuned for further updates as the AOA fights alongside leading lawmakers to ensure fair pay and treatment for ODs. Should the AOA prove successful in convincing Congress to prevent the scheduled 21 percent Medicare fee cut and persuade CMS to retain the recently corrected pay structure, Medicare participating optometrists will see the largest increase in fees of any specialty.